Morningstar Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. grew its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.8% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 4,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, insider Norman M. Brothers, Jr. sold 7,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.57, for a total transaction of $1,015,025.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,098 shares in the company, valued at $6,249,229.86. This represents a 13.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

United Parcel Service Price Performance

NYSE:UPS opened at $114.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $98.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.98. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.40 and a 12 month high of $158.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $123.71 and its 200 day moving average is $128.48.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.23. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 39.13% and a net margin of 6.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from United Parcel Service’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UPS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised United Parcel Service from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $147.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.73.

United Parcel Service Company Profile

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.